West Brom are a step closer to replacing outgoing manager Roy Hodgson, as a second round of talks with Claudio Ranieri is thought to have been positive, according to The Telegraph.
The eccentric coach has been out of work since he was sacked in March by Inter Milan, but the Baggies board are eager to bring the former Chelsea boss back to England.
Ranieri had initially met with the Hawthorns club a fortnight ago, but was again in the United Kingdom on Thursday to meet with the Premier League club.
If Ranieri was named as West Brom boss it would be a major capture for the Midlands club, with the fans hoping big-name signings would follow in the wake of their reputed manager.
The Baggies are believed to also be interested in Birmingham boss Chris Hughton, however the St Andrews club will be very reluctant to part with their young trainer, and as such Ranieri looks like the frontrunner for the role.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri insists that he will hold on to all three of his prized assets – Edinson Cavani, Ezequiel Lavezzi and Marek Hamsik.The attacking trio, who were an integral part of Napoli’s successful campaign last year, which saw them reach the Champions League, have been attracting interest from across Europe.
However, Mazzarri was in a defiant mood regarding keeping hold of his most important talents.
“Sometimes it is better to give in to a player who wants to leave as he is no longer motivated but that is not the case with us. Cavani, Lavezzi and Hamsik will remain at Napoli – that is their wish,” he said.
“I spoke to Marek just yesterday and I could tell he was looking forward to starting the new season. He is keen to stay. He is an attacking player with unique qualities and in my view, he must not be sold.”
However, Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis opened the door to a move away from Naples for Argentine forward Lavezzi, who has recently attracted interest from Manchester City, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.
“Like with all players, he is in the hands of his agent. I hope he makes the right decision. The player has a release clause and we cannot do anything. I would hate it if he were to leave,” he said.
Tottenham have been put on transfer alert after David Moyes revealed that Everton may look to cash in on Steven Pienaar.
The Toffees have been unable to secure a new contract for the talented South African, who is in the last year of his contract, and the news of Everton willing to listen to January offers is certainly going to alert Harry Redknapp who made an approach for the winger in the summer.
Moyes feels the club has no option but to take the money now, rather than run the risk of losing him on a free at the end of the season.
“It may well come to it in the January transfer window that we have to consider selling Pienaar to raise money, because he is out of contract in the summer.”
The Everton boss is keen to use the funds to bolster his squad, although fears the money will not be enough to bring in a top class striker that the Toffees clearly need.
“But we know we need a striker, and realistically, the sort of money we will raise through that route, what type of player is it going to buy for us in the January market.
“The sort of money I’d raise, I don’t think it will attract the type of player we need, the type of player we are looking for to provide the goals.
“The sort of money it will cost, I don’t think selling a player will solve that particular problem, and it is probably a reality that we will have to look at bringing in a loan player, that it will be the loan market we will need to look at to provide some sort of solution.” Sky Sports
Pienaar has scored 9 goals in 97 Premier League appearences for Everton since his £2m move from Borussia Dortmund.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Robin van Persie’s mother and wife have commented that the star striker should stay in north London.
The Netherlands international is in the last year of his contract with the Emirates Stadium club, and has delayed extending his deal with the Gunners.
Arsene Wenger’s men are thought to have offered Van Persie a new lucrative deal that breaks their wage structure, but with Manchester City amongst a number of clubs circling, the Dutch hitman is yet to decide on where he will play his football next term.
However, Van Persie’s mother Jose has told her son to stay with his current employers.
“Arsenal love him and that’s a great incentive to stay. Arsenal are a fantastic club. They have no debts and Robin is idolised there,” she is quoted as saying in The Sun.
Meanwhile, the forward’s wife Bouchra has also called on her husband to remain loyal, especially as their family are settled in London.
“Arsenal showed faith in Robin when he was going through a lean time, so we should not repay them by thinking about other clubs. Our home life and our children are happy in London,” she stated.
Van Persie is thought to be weighing up a £130,000-a-week deal with a £5million re-signing bonus from Arsenal.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Can we stop the demonisation of Randy Lerner please? As foreign owners go, he seems like one of the better ones. United fans started a new team under Glazer and yellow scarves are prominent at the Stretford End, Sheikh Mansour wants to buy the league without much success, Hicks and Gillett couldn’t have been worse, selling the team to the Boston Red Sox, who promptly gave some of Liverpool to Lebron James as part of a marketing deal, Yeung oversaw a relegation, Venky’s have done nothing yet, ‘just call him Al’ Fayed wants out, the revolving door at Chelsea keeps going round, Kroenke has no control anyway and no-one actually knows who Ellis Short is.
With that dream team of ‘fit and proper persons’, why are Villa fans complaining about Lerner? He gave the Aston Villa fans what they had wanted for years: An end to the Doug Ellis era. He appointed Martin O’Neill as manager and gave him the tools to construct an exciting lineup – trading Baros for Carew and buying Ashley Young for over nine million in his first season, for example.
Some of the signings were terrible and falling out with O’Neill was linked to that and wage inflation, but in the main, Lerner cannot be accused of denying his managers what they want. Delph (£6m), Downing (£10m) and Dunne (£5m) are three examples of solid purchases as Aston Villa remained something of a formidable side, an eleventh and three top six finishes before the ninth placed effort last campaign in what was an eventful season at Villa Park.
When it was going wrong and the club found themselves in 16th, he spent big on Darren Bent as Villa quietly only lost four of their final 15 games. Lerner should be praised for his ambition. Certainly Aston Villa are not the biggest club and there will be always other outfits ready to wave the chequebook at their stars, Ashley Young joining the red side of Manchester, while Milner and Barry went blue but surely there should be an element of faith in the new manager and chairman?
Lerner inherited the Cleveland Browns – essentially the absolute worst franchise in the NFL. Even then, he has tried to turn them into a progressive outfit, without much success in their competitive AFC North division. One tragic example was the signing of Le Charles Bentley – a much coveted lineman. Lerner spent over $30 million on him, only for Bentley to blow his knee out and retire without ever playing a down in the NFL.
Thankfully, while there have been some bad signings, some of the young players that have come through must genuinely excite the Holte End. Agbonlahor and Albrighton are established first teamers, with the likes of Delfouneso, Bannan, Hogg and Ciaran Clark needing a little more seasoning. It would have been easy for Lerner to hand his manager a chunk of his reported $1.5 billion wealth to buy in players, but largely, they have put their faith in youth and with Friedel and Reo-Coker gone, some spending will be inevitable as Villa rebuild around Darren Bent and the kids. With the Wenger driven exception in North London, which other foreign owned club has made youth development as much of a priority?
There has been no mass revolt from one of the better fanbases in the country, small pockets of disgruntled Brummies annoyed that they pinched their rival’s boss, simply because he was a Bluenose. It’s fair to say that rumours of season tickets being burnt and ripped are exaggerated. Who did Villa fans realistically want?
The fact that the stadium has retained the name without some corny sponsorship is a small sign that Lerner appreciates the tradition of English football. This is a man that spent 1983, one year after Aston Villa won the European Cup in England, gaining an appreciation of ‘sawker’ along the way. It should also be applauded that the Villains remain the only Premier League team to donate the lucrative primary shirt sponsor (to children’s hospice Acorns. Does giving up a reported 2.5 million a year sound like an owner who is out to asset strip the club?
So to sum it all up, here is a foreign chairman who spends money on players, the infrastructure of the club, knows the ins and outs of the sport and unique traditions in Britain, constructing a team who have an exciting young, largely British and Irish core and hasn’t neglected his responsibility to the community. Yet he’s being vilified because he went across town to fill their managerial vacancy.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Really?
Read more of Hashim Piperdy’s articles at This is Futbol
[divider]
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
Things keep going from bad to worse on the ticket pricing front. There was a time when working class fathers could afford to take their children to games, when you didn’t have to own stock in NASA to own a season ticket and when you didn’t have to be a Sheikh to be able to afford a decent seat in a decent stadium. Times change however, and the modern ticket prices often leave a sour taste in the mouth.
The news now is that Arsenal are going to be the first club to introduce £100+ non-corporate matchday tickets. These tickets will become available sometime early next year, when the VAT on tickets rises to 20%. This will take the cost of the most expensive non-corporate Emirates ticket from £98.50 (as if this wasn’t bad enough) to £100.60.
The fact of the matter is, Arsenal are pricing a huge percentage of their fans out of the market. It’s a sad situation when genuine fans are sidelined by budgetary constraints, but football is a world that is very much dominated by money. The people controlling Arsenal’s finances don’t care who is filling the stadium, as long as it’s filled and they are able to wring as much money out of it as possible. Yes, there’s the recession to contend with, but that doesn’t make the whole saga any less depressing.
The Chairman of the Football Supporters’ Federation, Malcolm Clarke had this to say regarding Arsenal’s ticket re-pricing: “A £100 ticket in the present climate is ridiculous. It is proof that football is not living in the same world as the rest of us. The game has more money going into it than ever before and it is not helping fans. Football is no longer a game that is readily accessible to all sections of the community.”
It’s true that the footballing world seems to have lost touch with commonsense, decency and reality. Football is no longer the game of the working class. Those who can’t afford tickets are forced to huddle round their TVs (having ordered an expensive Sky Sports package) rather than receive the real experience.
Prior to the announcement that Arsenal’s matchday ticket prices were going to change, Arsenal were already the most expensive team to watch in England on a game-to-game basis. That they’ve raised prices once more highlights the financial disarray that the footballing world is in. I wonder if these extravagances will come back to haunt Premier League clubs in the coming years. More and more high quality live streams of football games are becoming available online for free and they are a real nuisance for the authorities to shut down. I don’t condone the watching of illegal live streams, but by pricing fans out of the market, the masses are more likely to try and find the content for free.
I’d like to think that a change will come and that it will be for the better, but let’s face it, ticket prices will continue to rise and things are likely to go from bad to worse.
If you’re interested and want to hear more feel free to follow me on Twitter
*
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Click on image below to see a gallery of Christian’s lady wife
With Nathaniel Clyne sidelined through injury, promising youngsters Joe Gomez and Trent Alexander-Arnold have shared right-back duties at Liverpool for the majority of the season.
The two prospects offer a useful variation in styles too; England international Gomez is the more solid defender – often billed as a future centre-half – whereas Alexander-Arnold is more offensive-minded and likes to make key contributions going forward.
So with a huge Northwest derby on the horizon, we asked Liverpool fans earlier this week to vote for which player they’d like to see start at right-back against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
It was Gomez who helped Liverpool keep a clean sheet in their last outing, against FC Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but perhaps because he offers that local-lad-passion academy products always seem to inject into derby games, Alexander-Arnold came out on top in our poll with 63% of the vote.
How would you line up Jurgen Klopp’s side on Saturday, Liverpool fans? Let us know by commenting below…
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
The Premier League often overlooks the ChampionshipÂas a viable recruitment pool, often favouring cheaper, better-proven talents from foreign top flights instead.But England’s second tierÂstill has a lot to offer in terms of future Premier League stars,ÂshouldÂyou know where to look, and just to prove it, here’s a list of FIVE ChampionshipÂprodigies that have reportedly caught West Ham’sÂtransfer attention.The East London side snapped up Diego Poyet and Aaron Cresswell from Championship clubs during the summer. Could one of these FIVE follow their paths in the near future?
[ffc-gallery]CLICK ON SAM ALLARDYCE TO REVEAL
[/ffc-gallery]
NATHAN REDMOND
The Hammers were strongly linked with Nathan Redmond prior to Norwich City’s £2million swoop for the former Birmingham City youngster in summer 2013:
And the East London side might feel compelled to revive their interest in the touchline-hugging winger after his impressive start to the season.
The 20 year-old’s no goals and three assists in 15 Championship appearances may be rather ordinary output, but statistically, he’s one of the Championship’s most effective attackers. Redmond’s not only at the top of the division’s dribbling charts:
But his 3.2 chances created per match (represented as key passes) is the third-best return in the league:
A regular for England across the junior levels, amassing nine goals and 54 caps from the U16s to U21s, the wide-man is no stranger to the radars of top Premier League clubs, including Liverpool and Manchester City. Here’s a look at Redmond in action:
Having shown glimpses of his potential in the top flight last season as the Canaries failed to stave off relegation, and now demonstrating his dominance of the Championship, if Norwich don’t bounce back as expected this year, it’s likely someone will take Redmond off their hands.
Recent speculation however suggests Southampton are preparing a £5million offer in January.
Dan Burn
Measuring in at a whopping 6 foot 7, everything about centre-back Dan Burn screams Sam Allardyce. The Fulham starlet has been linked with an Upton Park switch in recent weeks, amid concerns that the Hammers could be forced to sell Winston Reid in January:
Not to suggest height is the only thing the West Ham boss looks for in a transfer target – the 22 year-old has largely (excuse the pun) impressed this season City last term, despite the Cottagers struggling at the less flattering end of the league table, following a coming-of-age loan spell at Birmingham. Here’s a look at his stats over the last 18 months:
Burn struggled during his prior Premier League outings and the technical side of his game still requires some work. But he’s an unstoppable force in the air and is at his best when sticking to the basics, which fits perfectly into the defensive mantra West Ham have adopted under Allardyce.
The Irons boss was surprisingly coy when asked about Burn in this week’s press conference:
Whether that rules out a January bid remains open to interpretation, but clearly, the Blyth-born defender has caught somebody’s attention at Upton Park.
MOSES ODUBAJO
Spurs and West Ham were both linked to League One starlet Moses Odubajo during the summer:
…following a campaign in which his twelve goals across all competitions fired Leyton Orient to the League One play-off final – where the 21 year-old netted this absolute stunner against Rotherham:
Brentford snapped up Odujabo, a winger-come-right-back, instead and he’s since adapted well to life in the Championship, as shown below:
Quick, powerful, industrious, versatile and boasting an impressive eye for goal, the Greenwich-born youngster would give the Hammers’ coaching staff a plethora of positive assets to work with.
He won’t be attainable until next summer at the earliest, but should Odubajo remain consistent for the Bees this season, his prior Premier League suitors will undoubtedly revive their interest.
ADAM REACH
According to Here Is The City, West Ham are currently monitoring the development of Middlesbrough winger Adam Reach, despite him recently penning new terms at the Riverside.
The tricky winger, whose understandably earned comparisons with fellow Boro academy products Stewart Downing and Adam Johnson, has been in decent form this season, finding one goal and two assists in 13 starts – including this cheeky finish against Fulham back in October:
He also netted past Liverpool in the Capital One Cup:
The 21 year-old’s output may not be outstanding, but he’s still acquainting himself to second tier level after productive loan spells at Shrewsbury and Bradford last season, ending both tenures with three goals.
Furthermore, he’s averaged the most successful dribbles of any Boro player this season, as shown below:
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With Reach recently agreeing a new four-year deal however, the Boro starlet’s market value is well protected.
Chris Solly
Perhaps Chris Solly is a little old to be considered a genuine Championship prodigy at 23 years of age, but nonetheless, the Charlton defender remains a target the Hammers have run the rule over in the past:
There are certainly better-rounded full-backs in the English second tier but Solly does the simple things well – particularly tackling, with his current average joint-top of the Championship’s tackle charts:
He offers experience too, having made 136 league outings for Charlton since his debut in 2009. Solly’s also won the Player of the Year award twice in that time period, in 2012 and 2013, which tells you how highly-rated he is around the Valley.
The attacking side of Solly’s game is improving too, as the 5 foot 8 defender continues to recover from a near-season-long spell on the sidelines. He’s got the joint-most assists of any Addick this season:
..and netted this absolute stunner against Blackpool at the end of last term:
Should Carl Jenkinson’s loan move not be made permanent at the end of the season, West Ham may revive their interest in the former England U17.
Manchester United have been handed encouragement in their pursuit of Borussia Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowsi, after the clubs chief executive admits ‘economical factors’ will decide his future, the Telegraph reports.
Sir Alex Ferguson has been a long term admirer of the towering Polish striker and even personally went to scout him at the Etihad Stadium in October while he was in action against Manchester City in the Champions League.
Dortmund reportedly rejected an offer for the 24-year-old from United in August, the same month that Ferguson landed Robin van Persie from Arsenal. However the United chief still seems interested in bringing the striker to Old Trafford.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
With Lewandowsi rejecting Dortmund’s offers of extending his current contract which expires in 2014, the clubs chief executive has admitted that the right fee could prize their star forward away from the club.
“We will have to make decisions in this case at the end of the season. We may decide on economical factors.” Watzke said.The Polish international has a prolific record for Dortmund scoring 39 goals in 82 league games and it is understood that he is keen to move to the Premier League, with United his favoured destination. The Red Devils also signed currently injured Japanese international Shinji Kagawa from the German club in the last transfer window.A deal for Lewandowski in the summer looks most likely and if he was to join, he would add to an array of talented forwards at Old Trafford with Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Danny Wellbeck, and Javier Hernandez already at the club.
According to The Guardian, Barcelona want to bring Tottenham Hotspur attacker Christian Eriksen to Camp Nou at the end of the season.
What’s the story?
Barcelona spent big to sign Philippe Coutinho from Liverpool in January, but it is understood that the Spanish giants are still looking to improve their midfield as Andres Iniesta enters the latter stages of his career.
The future of Ivan Rakitic is also said to be up in the air, with the Croatia international currently being linked with a move to Manchester United.
According to The Guardian, Barcelona have identified Tottenham’s Eriksen as the perfect player to boost their squad in this summer’s transfer window.
Eriksen has been with Tottenham for the last five years, and there is no question that the Denmark international has developed into one of the finest attacking midfielders in the European game.
[ad_pod ]
Spurs will of course be desperate to keep hold of the 26-year-old, but it would surely be difficult to resist the interest if Barcelona came calling at the end of the season.
Is Eriksen good enough for Barcelona?
Eriksen’s numbers for Tottenham speak volumes. Indeed, the Dane has scored 51 goals and registered 65 assists in 214 appearances for Spurs in all competitions.
He actually managed 65 assists in 163 games for Ajax before making the move to England, and there is no question that the attacker has improved over the last couple of years.
FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.
By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.
Indeed, the 26-year-old, who is believed to be on £75,000 a week at Spurs, has been key to Tottenham’s recent impressive form, with nine goals and nine assists in 35 matches in all competitions during the 2017-18 campaign.
It is not a surprise that there is talk of interest from Barcelona, and there is no question that Eriksen has the ability to operate at the top level.
Indeed, he has impressed in the Champions League this season, and it will be very interesting to see whether Barcelona make an official move this summer.